20.8px;">1959 Rolls-Royce Hooper Silver Cloud I Empress LWB 20.8px;">Two Door Saloon Coupe, chassis BLC35 and engine 20.8px;">C34B.
20.8px;">The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I was built between 1955 and 1959 20.8px;">with a total of 2360 units, of which 122 were long wheelbase 20.8px;">models, which first came available in 1957. There were only 121 20.8px;">short wheelbase chassis that were fitted with special coach-built 20.8px;">bodies and of the long wheelbase versions only 36 were ever 20.8px;">bodied. The Silver Cloud & quot;Empress & quot; was one of these rare long 20.8px;">wheelbase coach models. 20.8px;">Eighteen examples of the Silver Cloud I Empress LWB were 20.8px;">made by Hooper and it is one of the last creations made by the 20.8px;">renowned Hooper Coachbuilding Company before they ceased 20.8px;">coach building in 1959. 20.8px;">This is Design # 8546, a Two Door 4 Light Saloon Coupe that 20.8px;">is the only one ever produced by Hooper. It incorporates a 20.8px;">long sweeping line and very pretty and distinctive, swirling 20.8px;">spats at the rear. 20.8px;">Rolls-Royce records show that this car was originally purchased 20.8px;">by The Daily Telegraph Newspaper/Lady Camrose, the long-time 20.8px;">companion and eventual wife of John Seymour Berry, 2nd 20.8px;">Viscount Camrose (12 July 1909 15 February 1995). Berry was 20.8px;">a British nobleman, politician, and owner of the Daily Telegraph. It 20.8px;">is widely published that John Seymour Berry s father, William 20.8px;">Berry, 1 st Viscount Camrose was a close personal friend of 20.8px;">Winston Churchill, making it easy to imagine that many of 20.8px;">Englands elite upper class at some point may have ridden in this 20.8px;">unique and prestigious automobile. 20.8px;">There is a fascinating link in that Lady Camrose was once married 20.8px;">to Aly Kahn, son of the Aga Kahn. Within just a few years, both 20.8px;">father and son (or daughter in law) purchased extraordinarily 20.8px;">distinctive coachwork from Hooper, with the father ordering a very 20.8px;">stylish and unique Hooper body on a Phantom IV, one of the most 20.8px;">important cars produced by Rolls-Royce since 1945 and winner of 20.8px;">its class at Pebble Beach in 2015.
20.8px;">The chain of ownership since Lady Camrose is well recorded. 20.8px;">The noted Rolls-Royce London dealers, Frank Dale & Stepson 20.8px;">have extensive records, including many early invoices, from the 20.8px;">time they sold the car in 1974 and, after reviewing their files, have 20.8px;">even found the spare key which would be made available to the 20.8px;">new owner! 20.8px;">There is a less gilded period in the cars history when it was 20.8px;">owned by Herb Wetanson who owned the Wetsons hamburger 20.8px;">(the Big W was the signature burger) restaurant chain in the 20.8px;">greater New York area. During this time or soon after, work was 20.8px;">done by John Dennison, the noted Rolls-Royce mechanic in PA, 20.8px;">USA. This is reported by Paul Bier, son of the party who bought 20.8px;">the car from Wetanson in about 1980. 20.8px;">In March 2016 the car underwent extensive mechanical 20.8px;">restoration to rebuild the entire braking system and to return the 20.8px;">car to running order. There is full documentation showing all the 20.8px;">work that has been performed. Over $20,000 has been spent on 20.8px;">the mechanical overhaul. The engine is now blissfully quiet and 20.8px;">balanced. Outside a new Rolls-Royce, BLC35 is quieter than 20.8px;">almost any other Rolls-Royce, amongst hundreds, ever heard by 20.8px;">the writer. 20.8px;">The hydraulically operated rear passenger seat, installed by 20.8px;">Hooper, allows for a handicapped person to easily sit on the 20.8px;">rotated and elevated rear seat at the front passenger door.
Then, 20.8px;">once activated, it will automatically return to the rear passenger 20.8px;">compartment. Currently the seat can only be operated manually 20.8px;">and will require a flushing of the hydraulic lines and pump. Once 20.8px;">returned to its rear positon, the seat is beautifully integrated with 20.8px;">the other rear seat and the whole arrangement is barely visible. It 20.8px;">is an extraordinary testament to the technical and aesthetic 20.8px;">genius of Hooper at the time. The writer believes that even in 20.8px;">2016, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars could not match this in creativity 20.8px;">and imagination. 20.8px;">The leather is original. Unless for Concours, it would be 20.8px;">preferable to arrange a skilled repair and refurbishment to retain 20.8px;">its immense appeal. 20.8px;">The wood finish is largely original and usable but would benefit 20.8px;">from refinishing, certainly for Show. 20.8px;">The structure would appear to be outstanding and the passenger 20.8px;">door, inevitably large on a two door coupe, closes with the 20.8px;">conviction of a new car. 20.8px;">An extraordinarily rare car, a highpoint of Hoopers prowess, well 20.8px;">suited for immediate use with only minimal attention, or to a 20.8px;">greater Concours destiny 20.8px;">Short walk around video:
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